ESPN Deportes Debuts Daily News and Commentary Program

ESPN Deportes Debuts Daily News and Commentary Program

Juego Cruzado to feature core group of panelists from leading Spanish-language newspapers

BRISTOL, Conn., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- In its continued effort to revolutionize the way sports are covered on Spanish-language television, ESPN Deportes will launch Juego Cruzado, the network's latest news and commentary program. Modeled after ESPN's Around the Horn, Juego Cruzado will feature a core group of panelists from some of the leading Spanish-language newspapers including La Opinion (Los Angeles), Milenio (Mexico), El Nuevo Herald (Miami) and El Diario La Prensa (New York). Two additional newspapers from Dallas and Puerto Rico will be joining in February 2009.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080515/CLTH144LOGO )

The 30-minute program, which launches as the only daily sports and commentary show on Spanish-language television featuring regular contributions from such a wide array of print journalists, will debut November 3 at 7 p.m. ET Monday - Friday. Hosted by Luis Alfredo Alvarez, Juego Cruzado will feature passionate opinions on the day's hot-button issues.

"Sports news and commentary is truly one of the elements that sets us apart from the pack and adding Juego Cruzado to the mix will further strengthen our leadership position in sports news and information," said Chris Calcinari, vice president, production and operations, ESPN Deportes and ESPN International. "We are honored to partner with such reputable newspapers and journalists to bring our viewers a show that will be unpredictable, topical and full of hard-hitting opinion and debate."

Each evening, Juego Cruzado will select three journalists in various time zones and geographic regions to join Alvarez from their respective newsrooms. The papers and primary participants, to be chosen on the basis of news from their parts of the country that day, are:

   -- Mario Concha, El Diario La Prensa (New York)   -- Jorge Ebro, El Nuevo Herald (Miami)   -- Rafael Ocampo, Milenio  (Mexico)   -- Rafa Ramos, La Opinion (Los Angeles)    

Alvarez will host the show serving as 'editor-in-chief' from his Bristol, Connecticut studio where he'll test and rate the strength of each journalist's comments. The program will feature unique production features, including "Linea de vida" (life line) placed at the bottom of each panelist's screen indicating who is winning or losing; "La voz del Jefe" (voice of the boss) which will represent the voice of the publisher and appear in the background sporadically; and "Cartelera cruzada" (What 2 Watch 4). During the program Alvarez will be able to use the mute button if a panelist interrupts another. The winner, declared in the fourth segment of the show, will be responsible for making the "editorial of the day."

Similar to ESPN's Around the Horn, the guests will participate from their respective newspaper newsrooms. The program will be produced utilizing high-tech fiber optic connections to each newsroom to ensure every discussion and argument will be delivered in real time. The program will consists of four main segments -- 'Recomendadas' (Recommended), 'Clasificados' (Classified), 'Editorial del dia' (Editorial of the Day) and 'Momento final' (Final moment). Alvarez will introduce the three main topics of the day in the first round and each journalist will be able to present their "topic" in an analytical and controversial way. The 'classified' segment will consist of various franchises to be featured on a weekly basis, including 'role play', 'voice of the people,' which will give viewers an opportunity to submit questions on self-created videos via ESPNdeportes.com; and 'buy or sell' detailing who went where and latest trades in the world of sports.

Juego Cruzado and Cronomentro, ESPN Deportes' one-on-one news and debate program, co-hosted by legendary sportscaster Jose Ramon Fernandez and David Faitelson, will compliment the network's daily flagship news and information show, SportsCenter.

ESPN Deportes has become the top source for sports news and analysis since becoming rated by the Nielsen's U.S. Hispanic cable service, known as the Nielsen Homevideo Index Hispanic (NHIH) Service. Since national measurement began, ESPN Deportes has had 44 of the top 50 highest-rated (coverage) sports news/commentary shows and 17 of the top 50 most-watched sports news/commentary shows on Spanish-language cable.

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Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080515/CLTH144LOGO
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Source: ESPN Deportes

CONTACT: Santa Brito of ESPN Deportes, +1-212-456-0252,
santa.brito@espn.com

Web site: http://www.espndeportes.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment